This year saw a small increase in the number of games and
players, but some decrease in the total number of player hours,
due to some tweaks in the tournament format. 33 players competed
in nine preliminary games with a mean duration of just under
four hours and 6.67 turns, both a significant decrease from 2001.
More than half of the games (five of nine) ended in two-player
alliance wins this year, with the other four comprising one solo
win, one BG prediction win, and two stalemates, a mix quite similar
to 2001.

The Bene Gesserit were the clear favorites this year, taking
four victories. The Emperor, Guild, and Harkonnen got two wins
apiece, and the Atreides and Fremen one. Compared to 2001, the
BG remained on top and the Fremen remained at the bottom, while
the Harkonnen and Atreides each fell a notch. However, the factions
still seem to be turning in reasonably balanced results.

The most significant changes to the tournament this year were
put into place to answer the two most common comments about last
year's event: 1) too much time commitment and 2) stalemates (default
wins) are boring and too easy to force. The first was successfully
addressed by reducing the preliminary games to 4-hour/10-turn
time limits and by eliminating the two-heat minimum requirement
to qualify for the finals. The second was mitigated (or at least
modified) simply by introducing the Shield Wall as a sixth stronghold
on turn 7, which opened the game up somewhat and prevented some
of the long grinding finishes that we tend to witness. This variant
was quite well accepted by the players; in spite of some controversy,
the Shield Wall variant is part of the published rules. The turn
7 modification was put into place because immediate access to
six strongholds was deemed to be much too beneficial to the already
dominant Harkonnen faction in the early game.

Due to popular claim, the GM again awarded special Best Faction
plaques to the players who gave the best single-game performance
with each faction during the preliminary heats, measured in terms
of strongholds controlled per turn. Mike Hall received Best Atreides
and Steve Cuccaro scored Best Guild for a joint victory in only
two turns! Carl Walling got Best Bene Gesserit for his win allied
with the Guild. Joe Harrison was named Best Emperor in a game
that ended officially in stalemate, but in which he defended
Tuek's Sietch and Habbanya Ridge Sietch for most of the game.
Richard Irving took home Best Fremen for a game in which the
BG-Emperor alliance won, but Sietch Tabr never fell. Robert McCracken
was named Best Harkonnen for a win allied with the Guild that
was usurped only by the successful BG prediction!

In the final game, Paul Stephanouk took the Atreides; Steve
Koehler, the BG; Glenn McMaster, the Emperor; Steve Cuccaro,
the Fremen; Bill Dyer, the Guild; and James Hopkins, 2nd alternate,
the Harkonnen. All of the players had proven their Dune
skills, but of note was the imminent showdown between Steve Koehler
and Bill Dyer, both perennial finalists.

The first three turns saw only the establishment of traditional
board positions, five strongholds held by five different factions
in an unstable stalemate. In turn 4, the Guild and Atreides reluctantly
allied, facing an unsteady Harkonnen-Emperor-BG alliance, with
the Fremen left as a wild card. The Emperor took Tuek's Sietch
and caused the destruction of Arrakeen in a lasegun-shield explosion
while the Fremen took Habbanya Ridge Sietch. The Harkonnen-Emperor-BG
alliance played a Weather Control gambit in turn 5, which was
foiled by the Guild's destruction of the Shield Wall, eliminating
a large Imperial force in the Imperial Basin. Bill and Steve
K, on opposite sides, had both been stymied. In turn 6, the BG
jumped to the Atreides-Guild alliance, while all other alliances
were dissolved to maximize defensive options. The BG, coming
out of coexistence, and Atreides conquered two sietches each,
not quite enough to win. The Shield Wall entered play as a stronghold
on turn 7, but the Fremen, harboring his strength, defended it
against the dominant alliance. In turn 8, the BG and the Guild
ejected the Atreides from their alliance, leaving Bill and Steve
K allied alone now. The BG took Carthag from the Atreides and
the Guild took the Shield Wall from the Fremen, sufficient for
a two-player victory! But wait! With a steely smile, Steve K
revealed his prediction: "Guild in turn 8". Steve K
had brilliantly manipulated the game as he had foreseen, resulting
in the first BG Prediction victory in a final on record, and
the first repeat championship! The ultimate irony is that Bill
had finally apparently achieved victory after being frustrated
by a margin of only one token in each of the two preceding finals,
only to have it snatched from his grasp again! Bill also reported
being thinking to himself that he was safe from that fate because
"no one would predict the Guild to win, especially not in
turn 8". Steve K reported that he had "predicted the
player, not the faction". Congratulations to Steve K, as
well as all of the finalists!